An Overview of Jewish Music

The origins of Jewish music rest in the Middle-East, in the land of Israel, which is situated on the east of the Mediterranean Sea. However, the heritage of this music cannot be attributed to one place alone. North African, Western and Eastern European, and North American regions are all responsible for partially influencing Jewish music. To put it simply, wherever the religion of Judaism spread to, is another place that influenced the music. Jewish people reside in many corners of the globe, and hence the various cultures that they have lived amongst began to be incorporated into their foreign music. It is for this reason that Jewish music is a cultural phenomenon, as it has continuously absorbed its surroundings and evolved whilst still maintaining its essence. (Photo:https://jeswinfemina.wordpress.com/tag/rebirth-of-israel/)

The term “Jewish Music” is a very broad term as it encompasses music of the synagogue and other religious purposes to the secular music of festivals and celebrations. Jewish music is thus very diverse and deeply fundamental to the culture and religion of its people.

Before analyzing the music, it is important to have an understanding of the role of music in the Jewish community.

First of all, music is used for religious purposes in the mosque/synagogue and for other mystic rituals. As will be discussed later, the modes of Jewish music are named after the prayers and readings from which they are used in. The following video is a recording of a hymn is sung in Jewish Prayer services to give praise to God and is lead by chief cantor, Chazzan Chian Adler: 

Music is also used outside of worship, and plays a vital role in the celebrations and festivals of Jewish people. A celebration in the Jewish community is any moment of time that is deemed a major life passage event; this includes weddings, Bar-Mitzvas, Bat-Mitzvas and anniversaries. Music is used as a means of setting the tone and atmosphere of the event, as seen in the following video, in which the members of the wedding reception and the bride groom themselves dance to traditional Klezmer music: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h8erZ22Uik

Furthermore, music is used for many other purposes including traditional belly dancing and folk dancing. Music plays a fundamental role in the Jewish community and its heritage is exceedingly diverse. For this reason alone, it is difficult to provide an in depth analysis of all Jewish music, and instead, just a few focus areas will be studied.